Multiplication is one of the hardest math concepts for students to grasp, often requiring a frustrating amount of instruction and practice.
Combining different teaching techniques into your lesson plans — including games — can help you boost proficiency in multiplication, subtraction, addition, division, decimals and other critical math skills.
Multiplication games are a great way to incorporate game-based learning into material, helping students understand their times tables and multiplication lessons.
Below is a list of 15 fun multiplication games you can use and adapt to be inexpensive or completely free. Explore each category to find the perfect one for your classroom!
These games are best for learning multiplication for students in 3rd grade and 4th grade, but most are easy to adapt for simpler math, as well as for more advanced math students in 5th grade and beyond. Save the examples below to use later, or let them inspire you to create your own math games.
Online multiplication games
Add technology into your lessons and build upon class material with these free online multiplication learning games for students.
Prodigy Math is a standards-aligned, game-based learning platform that helps students enjoy practicing math skills.
This multiplayer learning game uses differentiated instruction, so students can build their individual math skills (like multiplication) in a supportive, adaptable format.
Prodigy has many free teacher resources to help your class succeed and save you time. Use the Assessments tools to specify material you want students to work on, then keep track of their progress with specialized reports.
You can target many different multiplication skills with Prodigy, moving all the way from basic pictorial representations to abstract or contextual problems. Choose what to target, based on your desired grade level and curriculum, and Prodigy will automatically generate suitable math problems to support the development of these skills.
Here are some fun ways you can use card games for multiplication practice.
16. War
This version of the standard favorite involves each player flipping two cards to find a product. It’s great practice for strengthening core skills by multiplying numbers as quickly as possible.
Materials:
- Card decks
- Blank paper and pencils (for scoring)
Steps:
- Split the students into partners and give each pair a card deck.
- One player shuffles the cards and deals them out until the deck is split.
- Players turn over two cards at the same time and calculate the product of their “equation.”
- The player with the highest product keeps all four cards and places them at the bottom of their deck.
- If both players get the same product, they have a “war” and must each turn over two more cards. The winner of that round takes all eight cards.
- Play continues until one player takes all the cards. If the game is timed, the player with the most cards at the end wins.
Tip: Remove high value cards to make the game easier.
17. Spiral
Turn card decks into game boards with a multiplication game that twists and turns. Players multiply dice values with card values and compete to reach the center of the spiral first.
Materials:
- Card decks
- Game pieces
- Dice
Steps:
- Split the class into groups and give each group a card deck.
- Tell players to arrange the cards in a spiral for their game board.
- Players take turns rolling the dice and moving their game pieces around the board.
- When a player lands on a card, they must multiply the value of their die with the value of the card. The other players will “fact check” their answer. If they’re correct, they stay where they are. If they’re incorrect, they move back to the previous position.
- The first player to get to the card at the center of the spiral wins.
Other rules can be added to make the game more interesting. For example, if a player rolls a double (where the value of the die and card are the same), they get an extra turn.
Tip: Partner students up (so each pair uses one game piece) to encourage teamwork and help all skill levels succeed at the game.
So, why use multiplication games?
Many new ideas are introduced when multiplication lessons begin. Just when students get comfortable finding the sum and the difference, math class becomes all about the product. Keeping up can be a struggle.
But as stressful as it may be, multiplication is an incredibly important skill to develop. One study found multiplicative thinking to be a necessary ability for later success in many subjects. Students must develop a foundation for conceptual multiplicative thinking by understanding and remembering core multiplication facts.
In contrast to the relative short time needed to develop additive thinking, the introduction and exploration of ideas to support multiplication may take many years and according to some researchers, may not be fully understood by students until they are well into their teen years.
The results of another study stress the importance of visuals and concrete manipulatives for increasing students’ understanding of math material. Multiplication games are a good alternative to worksheets, and a great way to incorporate visuals and help students move from a concrete to abstract framework by motivating them to learn more.
Multiplication games unlock math learning
Multiplication can be stressful for students, but it doesn’t have to be. Multiplication games help students visualize and process content in a fun, engaging format. Use these ideas at any point in your math lesson to liven up the classroom and get your students excited about such an important math subject!
Try Prodigy Math today — an engaging, game-based learning platform that assesses student progress and performance as they play. Aligned with math curricula across the English-speaking world, more than a million teachers and 100 million students have used Prodigy to practice multiplication and other math skills.
